Mystery: Missing Rita: (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Suspense Thriller Mystery)

by James Kipling

  “Lohan,” he echoed in the phone’s receiver when he picked it up.

  “O.k.,” he answered. “We’ll be right over.”

  “What’s the problem?” Sam asked as he trailed behind him and headed slowly towards the car.

  “We’re urgently needed at the city morgue,” he answered.

  “Did they say what the problem was?”

  “No, they didn’t,” Lohan answered smartly. “That can only mean one thing.”

  “What?”

  “It is really bad news.”

  Sam felt a sudden adrenaline rush as he got in the driver’s seat and got behind the wheel. He looked over at Lohan and marveled how he was always calm in every case they handled.

  “So did you sort out your issues with Gina?”

  Lohan looked over at Sam for a moment and took in a deep breath. It was a topic he had been avoiding ever since he reported to work that morning, but he knew in the end he would blurt it all out.

  “What do you think?”

  “From the nonexistent sex glow on your face,” he chuckled, “I think not.”

  Lohan looked over at Sam and wondered why he confided so much in him when all he did was make fun of him. He looked straight ahead at the road and wondered what it was that was so urgent at the morgue.

  “Gina is a handful,” he blurted without warning as he remembered events from the previous night.

  “What happened last night?”

  “She told me to go to a strip club and I went to a strip club.” Lohan’s words sunk in slowly. He began to wonder what he meant by that.

  “I don’t get it,” he said out loud. “I thought she hated it when you went to strip clubs.”

  “Hate is an understatement, my friend.”

  “So why did you go?” Sam asked.

  “Because she threatened me,” Lohan answered bitterly. “No one threatens me.”

  “I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”

  “Of course she meant it,” Lohan replied defensively. He settled back in his seat and looked straight ahead at the road with a distant look on his face.

  “Sir,” Sam began, “you are a trained police officer who has been in the field for a good ten years. You chase criminals and put them behind bars – and you want to tell me you are afraid of your own wife?”

  Lohan let out a chuckle from the question he was asked and his mind again wondered to nothing in particular. His gaze shifted out of the car.

  “Ironies of life my friend, the simple ironies of life…”

  “Please do me a favor,” Sam begged.

  “What?”

  “Please remind me of this moment when I tell you I want to get married.”

  Lohan again laughed out loud before saying, “I will kick you right in the behind but I will not stop you.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Because marriage is a beautiful and sacred institution,” Lohan said sarcastically and Sam did not miss the contempt in his voice.

  The city morgue’s building appeared in the distance. Sam parked in the driveway and both got out of the car. They began heading for the building slowly, both wondering what was so urgent and both had their professional hats on.

  They took the flight of stairs to the ground floor and the atmosphere suddenly changed to cold and somber, something they were both used to now. They were however greeted by a few people making unnecessary noise and arguing about something, they could not tell what.

  “It is never this loud at the morgue,” Lohan said as they approached the small crowd of people at the far end. The morgue attendant Rodney’s face lit up when he saw the two approach them and waved them over. He looked flustered and pale.

  A familiar figure was yelling at Rodney and they could not tell who it was from behind.

  “Calm down, sir,” Rodney said in a calming voice.

  “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down until you give me a proper explanation.”

  “This kind of thing never happens,” Rodney said apologetically. “I simply have no explanation for you.”

  “Well, maybe if you did your job right last night this would never have happened.”

  “With all due respect, sir,” Rodney said yet again. “We store dead bodies, not diamonds and priceless artifacts. All I have to ensure is that the place is cold enough.”

  The man glared at Rodney with a murderous look and was just about to say something but was interrupted by both Sam and Lohan walking over.

  “What seems to be the problem here?” Lohan asked as his gaze finally landed on the man who was causing all the commotion. His face suddenly lit up. “Mr. Sutter, what seems to be the problem?”

  Ryan Sutter was still in the same suit they had met him in that morning. His hair was a tangled mess and his eyes were shot with red.

  Rodney did not wait for him to give an explanation in fear that he would fabricate facts.

  “Mr. Lohan,” he began. “The body is missing.”

  “Whose body?”

  “The late Rita Sutter’s body,” Rodney explained and there was a sad tone mixed with much regret in his voice.

  Lohan looked at Rodney quizzically and back at Ryan before giving Sam a signal to escort him out.

  “Sir, would you please come with me,” Sam begged Ryan and saw him recoil in defeat as they both walked out of the morgue.

  Lohan waited for them to move out of earshot before turning his attention to Rodney.

  “What the hell happened, Rodney?”

  “I have no freaking idea,” Rodney answered and the pressure he was under suddenly showed on his face. “I didn’t know she was missing until he showed up and asked to see her.”

  He said these words as he walked over to the supposed tray that Rita had been placed in. He pointed at it and it was empty.

  “There was no sign of forced entry. I started my day as usual after locking up from last night and walked in as I usually do.”

  “There was nothing odd about the place?”

  “No, everything was in the right place,” Rodney said before heaving slightly. “I told you I only noticed she was missing when he requested to see her body.”

  Lohan could understand Rodney’s frustration but knew at some point he would have to be a suspect in the investigation. He looked around the morgue and the silence was very disturbing. He wondered how Rodney could sit there by himself, reading the newspaper and having his morning coffee.

  “What’s on your mind, chief?” Rodney cut in nervously.

  “What isn’t?” he asked back before taking his cell phone from his pocket and asking a few people from the station to come to the morgue.

  “What is going to happen now?” Rodney went on to ask, feeling agitated.

  “Relax, Rodney,” he cautioned. “We are going to file an official report first before anything and then start an investigation.”

  “How long will that take,” he asked. “You know how distracting it is to have people down here.”

  “I will ask them to be silent as they work,” Lohan said and he started walking out of the morgue. The chilly atmosphere was biting hard into his skin and he could feel his teeth begin to jitter.

  He spotted both Ryan and Sam from a distance and walked slowly towards them. Ryan was still pretty upset and all Sam could do was comfort him. Lohan dreaded the walk towards them but he knew that he had to approach them nevertheless.

  “I am sorry you have to go through this Mr. Sutter,” he said “How are the kids holding up?”

  “They are at my mum’s now,” he said.

  “Can I give you a ride?” Lohan offered and slowly began walking where Sam had initially parked the car.

  “Sure,” Ryan said before staring at nothing in particular and following him behind. His head was bent low and he felt defeated and resigned.

  Lohan gave him an encouraging look as he got into the backseat of their car and watched as Sam took the driver’s seat.

  “Should we drop you where we found you in the morning?
” Lohan asked.

  “Yes please, if it won’t be too much trouble,” Ryan answered.

  Sam did not need to be given the directions as he started his car and drove on to where he needed to drop Ryan.

  They both watched as he got out of the car and walked into the house. He still looked and felt sad and they both felt a lot of compassion for him.

  “This is going to be one hell of a case,” Lohan said as he watched Ryan walk into the house.

  Chapter Two

  The subway did not have as many people as she expected and Tracy became more comfortable. She looked again at her surroundings and noticed a few of the people there were heading to the hospital. Her mind raced back to the days when she was still a young girl and she could hear her mother’s voice echoing in her head.

  “You will never amount to anything, you were born of a harlot and you will be a harlot. After all, the apple never falls far from the tree, you know”

  Her mother had told her this when she got an A in her biology exam and her teacher had told her she could be a doctor if she wanted to. She let her head rest on the window on her left as she wondered where her mother was now.

  The train halted at the next stop and she watched as all the medical personnel got out at the same time.

  “Their mothers must have believed in them,” she said in a still voice that was almost a whisper.

  She was left on the subway with two other people: an old man who looked like he would spend the rest of the night in his seat and a young man who kept eyeing her suspiciously. She ran her hand through her hair and tried to comb through it as she noticed he continuedstaring. He then got to his feet and walked to where she was seated and sat opposite her.

  “Hey,” he said as he shook his head slightly. He wore a black hood on his head, a black jumper and blue jeans and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of glasses.

  “Hi,” Tracy mouthed slowly and cautiously. She did not like how he was interfering with her personal space but was flattered in a twisted way.

  “Heading to work?”

  Tracy chose to remain silent and did not bother to reply. She listened keenly for her stop and wanted more than anything to get out of the train. She felt the whiff of his scent overwhelm her and felt suffocated.

  “You don’t talk?” he went on to ask and placed his hand on Tracy’s thigh. Tracy got to her feet and began walking to another seat.

  “Stay away from me,” she said as she looked for another seat.

  The young man kept his distance and walked back to where he’d sat before. He crossed his legs, and still kept looking over at Tracy while running his tongue over his lips. Tracy was just about to hurl an insult at him but bit her tongue; she had arrived at her stop and simply got to her feet gracefully. She stepped out into the biting cold night and the breath of fresh air caressed her lungs and made her feel refreshed.

  She put her hands in her jean pockets and began to head towards work. The streets were busy as usual and she passed a few prostitutes who whistled her over but she decided to completely ignore them. Tracy took the usual route and only stopped at the entrance of the building to show her pass. She then walked into her locker room and put on her uniform slowly as she looked round for anyone else who was working the night shift that night. She was all alone and the lonely feeling crept up on her once again. She put on her gloves and started to push her trolley over to the ground floor.

  Tracy passed by the reception and was stopped dead in her tracks by the blonde girl who was on night shift that evening.

  “Tracy Evans,” she called and watched slowly as Tracey turned her gaze towards her with a plastic smile on her face.

  She is so pretty, why is she talking to me? she thought and left her trolley to head over to her.

  “Yes, please,” she said.

  “There is a job opening for the day janitor if you are interested,” she said and waited for Tracy to respond. She always dreaded the eerie look that Tracy wore on her face and felt a cold shiver settling in her.

  “I actually have another day job,” Tracy answered. “But thank you for the offer.”

  “Do you happen to have any friends who are in search of a job and would be interested in the position perhaps?” she went on to inquire.

  Tracy almost laughed at the suggestion before shaking her head and taking her leave. She did not have any friends and the ones she had were always busy anyway. She walked back to her trolley; it was equipped with all sorts of detergent, antiseptics and bleaches and pushed it towards the first floor. There were brooms and mops sticking out of the trolley as she pushed it away and this made her think about her more exciting day job. She could never give it up for anything in the world. She had flexible hours and could take a few sick days off without her clients and her boss complaining much. She walked on slowly and a smile began to form on her face. She could never give up her day job at the city morgue.

  ******

  Lohan was awakened by Gina’s yelling from the kitchen. He turned from his side of the bed and envied the days when his alarm clock would wake him up instead. He slowly got out of bed and walked to the bathroom in search of his tooth brush. He did not know why she was shouting so much this time round and he simply did not care. He had learnt how to block all her noise and did not even notice she was back in the bedroom until she barked at their bathroom doorway.

  “Have you heard anything I just said to you?” she asked with her arms crossed at the doorway and had yet another evil look plastered on her face.

  “And good morning to you too, honey. Sleep well?” he replied as he looked for his shaver in the top drawer of his bathroom cabinet.

  “As well as anyone could sleep with you snoring and farting uncontrollably throughout the night,” Gina replied. “I think you should have a colonoscopy done on your foul tubes.”

  Lohan had not heard a single thing she just said and went on to smear a good amount of shaving cream on his beard.

  “Are you even listening to me?”

  “How could I not? You are standing right in front of me yelling at the top of your voice. I have to listen to you, Gina, God forbid that you lower your voice at such close range because I am deaf as an old mule.”

  “Well you sure as hell move like one, especially in bed,” Gina replied.

  “Why do you stand it if you don’t like it?”

  “After being married to you for all these years? Do you think any other man would want me?”

  “So you are trying to say that you are only with me because you have not found another man to replace me?” Lohan asked.

  He was casually shaving his beard as he had the conversation with Gina. One would think they were not even insulting each other.

  “For the first time in your life you have actually gotten something right,” Gina said.

  “I know I didn’t get a lot if things right when it came to marrying you,” he said as he rinsed out the shaving cream from his face. He stripped off his clothes and got into the shower. He could still hear her talking and hurling more insults at him but the sound of water running in the shower drowned out her noise. He had a big day ahead of him and he could not let her ruin it. He took his time in the shower and knew she would be gone when he stepped out.

  Lohan was wrong when he walked out of the shower and found Gina still standing on the doorway waiting for him to step out.

  “What are you still doing here?” Lohan asked. “Don’t you have somewhere to be? What time do you open the salon?”

  “Have you heard what I just said?”

  “Do I ever listen to anything you say, Gina?”

  “I am not happy.”

  “So what else is new?” Lohan asked as he walked back to the bedroom and started putting on the clothes he had ironed himself the previous night.

  Gina for once did not have anything else to say to him and she went on to stare at him in silence. She instead watched him dress and followed him with her eyes.

  Lohan left the room and h
eaded to the kitchen. He took a quick glance at his wristwatch and started to brew himself some coffee. Gina had followed him out of the bedroom with a sharp glare and did not say anything. She stood in the doorway and watched him make himself a steaming hot cup of coffee and still said nothing.

  After about five minutes of enduring the gaze of Gina, Lohan got to his feet and started walking towards the door but was stopped dead in his tracks by Gina.

  “Edward, what are you going to have for lunch today?” she asked.

  This question took Lohan by surprise and he looked over at his wife, confused.

  “I do not know Gina – it is only 7:00 in the morning you know,” Lohan replied.

  “I hope you have chicken.”

  “Why?” Lohan asked, still confused.

  “So that you can choke on a chicken bone,” she said and walked out of the kitchen.

  Lohan could not help but see the humor in it and let out a sarcastic laugh at Gina’s words.

  He got to his feet and placed the cup of coffee in the kitchen sink before walking out of the door and not looking back. He got into his car and drove off to work, trying to collect his thoughts and focus on the day ahead.

  “Stay out of my head, Gina!” he said as he drove on slowly into the morning traffic.

  *****

  Sam went over the files again, trying to make sense of what he was looking at. He had thought about nothing but the case the whole night and got to work early in the morning to try and make more sense from it. A knock on his door startled him and he let out a warm smile when he saw who it was.

  “Did you sleep here?” Lohan asked as he took a seat opposite his young partner.

  “I wish I had,” he sneered. “Maybe I would have cracked something on the case.”

  “I just love how young minds work sometimes, always eager to please.”

  Sam was by now used to the sarcastic comments his partner made and had warmed up towards them.

  “Here is the thing, Sam,” he started. “When dealing with a case you have to do two things.”